Green Tea

Health benefits and Advantages of Green tea

Green tea has been the favorite tea variety of the Chinese and the Japanese people for the past thousands of years. Nowadays, people all over the world have realized the amazing health benefits of this tea and have stated opting for green tea. It is said that tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, next only to water. Owing to various reasons, now this tea is becoming the most popular variety of tea consumed all over the world. The reason for its huge popularity is that green tea is more flavorful and wide varieties of green teas are commonly available. 

The difference between the varieties of tea available depends upon the amount of oxidation that the leaves are exposed to. In the case of green-teas, no oxidation process takes place, which means that the enzymes in the tea leaf are not exposed to oxygen in the air. Hence, this process enhances the taste of green teas when compared to black teas and oolong teas. All the teas, be it black tea, oolong tea and green-tea, all are derived from the leaves of Camellia sinensis plant. But, green tea leaves are steamed and hence is prevented from being oxidized from the powerful antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate commonly referred as EGCG. This is one of the main reasons for the green tea to be considered to be powerful and capable of preventing various diseases.

Green-tea comes in various blend and forms to suit the culture and community, depending on countries that consume them. Green tea was originally produced in China. Slowly countries like Japan followed suit. As the good effects of consuming this tea was getting popular, Asian countries started consumption of green tea. Now, green tea is being consumed all over the world and as per the studies revealed, people are also gaining from its health benefits.

The uses of green tea as a medicine to treat everything from headaches to heartaches have been practiced by Chinese people about 4000 years ago. Nowadays, a lot of scientific research is being done on green tea and a lot of revelations prove that it is a powerful tool in fighting and preventing various diseases in man. A study published in the journal of National Cancer Institute indicates that the risk of esophageal cancer among Chinese men and women was found to be reduced by sixty percent when they consumed green tea. Most recently Harvard Medical School Researchers have revealed that the green-tea inhibits the growth and reproduction of cancer cells.

Researchers have also found out that green tea is effective in reducing the cholesterol levels, and increasing the ratio of HDL, the good cholesterol, to LDL, the bad cholesterol. Other studies conducted all over the world that green tea is effective and helpful in cancer prevention, decreasing the risk of stroke, cardiovascular diseases, headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, fighting cavities and also slowing down potential blood clotting. Another health benefit of green tea is that it is a good source for reducing breast cancer in women due to the presence of polyphenols and antioxidants in the green tea leaves.

Green tea is also found to be beneficial to skin, helping a person to maintain a healthy and glowing skin. The other benefits of green-tea leaves applied on the skin include anti-ageing effects, a natural sunscreen protector, apart from protecting the skin from diseases like psoriasis, warts and also from acne. Also, green tea is found to be effective in helping a person in weight loss, as consumption of green tea is found to burn calories at a faster rate, as it will help in regulation of glucose and inhibit the absorption of fat.

Green tea has a unique taste that is not found in any other tea. And it is due to this taste that most people all round the world have started consuming green tea and prefer green tea to coffee. Green tea comes in a variety of flavors like Vanilla, mint and jasmine which also gives the tea drinkers varied tastes. Green tea is also found to have less caffeine than that of coffee. Nowadays, people have also started cooking with green tea as it has wide array of health benefits as well as for its great taste.

Another important benefit seen among people using green tea regularly is the reduction in natural allergies like sneezing, coughing and watery eyes. Green tea consumed in its purer form has been found to be more effective for allergies. Green teas are also found to fight tooth decay, due to the rich availability of fluorine, which fights the enzyme that causes plaque formation.

Ideally, one has to restrict the consumption of green tea to 3 to 4 times a day.  Green tea has to be brewed for 3 to 5 minutes in order to extract the full benefits of polyphenols, which is renowned for its anti cancer properties. Also in order to add extra flavor and taste to your tea, addition of thyme, ginger, cardamom, anise etc, can add distinctive properties to tea. Green tea can be consumed as hot tea as well as cold tea. There will be no loss of the beneficial properties of this tea if it is consumed cold. Having excess of tea of course has its drawbacks. Overall, green tea is slowly, but surely becoming one of the world’s favorite beverage.